Polonyna Vesnarka, Zelenne

"Vesnarka is a meadow on the Chornohora ridge in the Ukrainian Carpathians. It is located on the road between the village of Zelene and the mountain of Pip Ivan Chornohorsky.

Shepherds traditionally graze their cattle in the meadow. There is a cheese dairy, a spring and a tourist shelter nearby. Not far from the Vesnarka meadow is Lake Maricheika. The meadow overlooks the Hryniava Mountains. A tourist route to Mount Pip Ivan passes through the meadow.

The picturesque village of Zelene was endowed by God with such beauty that no writer or poet has been able to fully describe this wonderful nature. The greatest pride of the village is the mountains that surround it. Each peak, river or just a stream has its own story. But few people know about Mount Horhan Vesnarkovyi and the Vesnarka meadow.

They say that long ago, an old man lived in the forest, in a small hut, as old as time. And, they say, he had a daughter. Her name was Vasylyna. She was so beautiful that words cannot describe her. Whoever looked at her saw spring in front of them. That is why she was often called Vesela Vesna, and later Vesnarka.

Once a young shepherd was driving sheep through the area where the father and daughter lived. By chance, a shepherd boy and a girl named Vesnarka met on a meadow. They fell in love with each other, so much so that it is impossible to say. But the old father did not want to hear about his daughter's marriage to the shepherd. His soul boiled with inhuman anger. One dark night, the old man cunningly killed the boy. The girl did not leave the place where her beloved's blood was shed.

"Lord," Vesnarka prayed, "if I could not be of any use with my beloved, then let me serve people.

No one knows where the girl disappeared to, but people say that she became a beautiful meadow. So beautiful that no one called it anything but Vesnarka.

And the father? What happened to him? The Lord gave him a long task: "You, man," He told him, "have not a heart but a stone, so you must become a stone for all eternity. You must see the happiness of people until it melts your heart." And Gorgan stood there, gray-haired and gray-eyed, looking at the white world in mute silence. It is said that at night, those who come close to his graying forelock can see him shuddering with silent crying...